Dance Lessons
by RockinWaterBender
Summary: The gaang are waiting out the last month before the comet. One night, the fighting between Aang and Toph, Katara and Sokka gets too intense so Zuko calls them out on it. Desperate times calls for desperate measures as Zuko breaks out some Dance Lessons.:
1. Chapter 1

"I'm bored." Toph whined and pushed herself up off the boulder she was occupying. Katara sat by the fire cooking the gaang's lunch while Sokka watched Aang and Zuko practice with their firebending.  
>"Lunch is ready anyway." Katara replied and called to the boys who hurried over, thinking with their stomachs.<br>"This is really good, Katara!" Aang replied and gulped down the smoked salmon and sea prunes Gran Gran had packed for them. She smiled at the compliment and ate her own food in silence. Beside her, Sokka gulped down his helping and reached for more, but that was not what held Katara's attention. It was the fire bender sitting across from her eating his food intently. She stared at the firebender curiously until he met her gaze with his whirlpools of bright gold.  
>"Let's do something fun." Toph said and Katara broke Zuko's gaze and he looked towards Toph.<br>"!" Sokka waved his hand in the air impatiently.  
>"No Sokka, we aren't playing 'Appa, Appa, Momo. That's for little kids like Twinkletoes here." Toph jerked her thumb towards Aang who was making googling eyes at Katara when he turned to narrow his eyes at her.<br>"I would like to remind you that I am one hundred years older than you are." He said and Toph just rolled her eyes.  
>"Sure."<br>"I'm am going to get Sokka to sing for you guys if you don't stop fighting!" Katara yelled. Sokka puffed out his chest proudly.  
>"Yeah I'll sing- HEY!" He yelled at Katara. They started to bicker as Aang and Toph continued to argue. Zuko stood and the fire exploded under his fingertips.<br>"ENOUGH!" He bellowed and everyone else shut up completely.  
>"Now since you all won't stop fighting, I have something we can do. I can give you dance lessons."<br>"You? Are gonna give us dance lessons?" Sokka choked out. Aang began to laugh along with Toph and Katara supressed a giggle or two.  
>"Yes me. Do any of you have a better idea?" He asked angirly. None of them answered back.<br>"That's what I thought. Now let's get started."

After thirty minutes of 'lessons' Zuko looked like he was going to burst. Sokka kept marching instead of gliding and that lead to him stepping on Toph's feet. Then that lead to Toph's knee in Sokka's groin or it digging into his shin. Aang was shorter and harder to follow when he tried to lead her around the clearing they had been practicing in. He hadn't stepped on her toes or dug his fingers into her waist like Sokka was doing, but it was just awkward between them. They stood as far as apart as their arms would let them and didn't make eye contact.  
>"You guys are making this more complicated than it really is." Zuko stormed over to where she and Aang shuffled.<br>"Aang, pull her closer. Make eye contact." He ordered and Aang pulled Katara an inch closer, but didn't meet her eyes.  
>"No! Like this." Zuko said and Aang moved aside so Zuko could replace Aang's small hand with his warm on on his waist and clasp Katara's hand in his. She feathered her arm on his shoulder as Zuko pulled her daringly close against his body. She could feel his breath on her neck as he lifted his hand from her waist to lift her chin gently up so her eyes met his. They stood like that, entranced with eachothers gaze until Aang cleared his throat and gestured for Zuko to move on. Zuko placed his hand back on Katara's waist and stepped with her to the beat of the imaginary ball room waltz. He whirled her around the swaying grass as the slight breeze ran like soft fingers through her mahogany waves. She never broke his gaze even when he spun her out and dipped her dramatically. His hand ran along the length of her arm, the curve of her breast, and down her side to her theigh where he gripped it and hitched it up to his waist and she let out a gasp of suprise. Zuko smiled devishly and lifted her back up to her feet and his lips became incredibly close to her own as she linked her arms around his neck and stretched her body back. He gathered her by her waist and spun with her around the clearing once more. His golden sunsets locked onto her ocean waves and seemed as if he was peering deep inside her soul and seeing all the secrets she kept inside her heart. He dipped her once more as she pointed one booted toe up to the sky and gasped for air as beads of sweat gathered on her forehead like the ones on Zuko's. The silence was broken by slow claps by Toph who looked at the show with a smirk, Aang who had jealousy written all over his face and Sokka who stood steaming.<br>"What was that? You! Don't you ever put hands on my sister like that again!" Sokka said and shook his fist at Zuko before pulling Katara by her wrist back to camp.

Later after everyone was sleeping, Katara snuke out of her tent to tumble right into Zuko.  
>"Uhh, I was just about to head to bed." He stuttered.<br>"I'm sure. My brother would kill you if he found out I was with you this late at night." Katara replied.  
>"He almost killed me today when we were dancing." He said and tore his gaze away from his feet to meet hers sympathetically.<br>"Nah, I doubt it. I can look after myself."  
>"I'm glad I didn't step over any boundaries with you." He said and smiled<br>"No. Still as it was before. I just have one request for you though."  
>"What is that?" Katara smiled before she spoke.<br>"Dance with me." Katara asked and Zuko hesitated before he grabbed her waist and pulled her closer than before.  
>"Glad to."<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

The moon was high in the sky as Katara felt herself be lead across the camp by Zuko. Instead of watching where she was going, Katara focused on calming her breathing as it came out in rapid puffs, making her chest heave. He pulled her through the forest and away from camp and the clearing that they had used earlier that day.  
>"Zuko? Where are we going?" She asked as a branch swung back and hit her right in the mouth. He turned around to look back at her. He chuckled as Katara picked the leaves out of her teeth.<br>"I'm taking you dancing." He simply said and pushed the leaves out of the way for Katara to get through. She stepped through the leafy arch to find herself in an enchanting hollow. Willow trees lined the circular meadow with their fingers dangling down as a curtain. Spring flowers were climbing their trunks and scaling the nearby rocks by the river that if you looked farther down stream, you could hear the waterfall. The moon filtered through the pines above and silver moonlit beams were like spotlights on this special place.  
>"Zuko, How?" She asked as he lead her entranced, to the willow curtain.<br>"I came across it like this. Magnificent, isn't it?"  
>"It's beautiful." Katara whispered more to herself as she pulled aside the willow's dangling leaves to enter an enclousure that sparkled with the moon. She could hear the crickets nearby, chirping rhythmically in tune with each other. The natural silver light made her giddy with romance.<br>"I was thinking that this could be our spot. Our place to get away from everyone else." Zuko replied as he placed his hands on her shoulders and Katara leaned into his lean body. She looked up to see his face, framed in silver like a halo. Zuko's lips leaned down to kiss her when a rustle sounded from the bushes that trapped the magical cove. Suki emerged with a slight smile on her face as she glanced around her. Then she saw Zuko and Katara and her smile got larger.  
>"Hey, you guys!" She said rather loudly.<br>"Suki! Shhhhh!" Katara whispered viciously and Suki turned a pale pink.  
>"Oops sorry." She replied before slinking back into the bushes. Katara could hear distant footsteps.<br>"Did you find it?" Sokka asked.  
>"No, I not totally sure if you really saw a magical place with willow trees. Not in this forest anyway." Suki stated.<br>"I did see it!"  
>"Come on, let's go find a more magical spot." Suki replied with a giggle and their footsteps faded away into the night. Katara felt the breath whoosh out of her and Zuko laughed quietly.<br>"That was really close." He replied and Katara just shook her head in agreement. He then turned her around gently and his golden eyes bore down on her. He leaned down once more with his lips just inches away when Katara spoke suddenly.  
>"So are you going to dance with me?" She asked in a slow, seductive whisper that had Zuko's stomach twisted up in knots. He regained his senses and took her hand in his and placed a hand on her waist.<br>"Ready when you are." He said smugly. Katara laid her hand on his shoulder like she did earlier that day. Then suddenly they were dancing. Dancing in the privacy of the willow trees and the white flowers. Dancing in the silver beams that shone down on them from the heavens above. Everything about this moment was perfect in Katara's eyes as she twirled with this banished prince, this battered heart that needed fixing, this boy that she had fallen head over heels in love with. She could see his golden eyes glittering in the night. Her sun that she had learned to bathe in. The sun she couldn't ever live without. Zuko spun her out into the silver light as she twirled on her own, all stresses and fears gone. Free. He claimed her once again in his arms and swayed slowly as his fingers traced her tanned skin.  
>This time, Katara moved upward as her lips feathered over his in a teasing manor. Seconds past and all that could be heard was the uneven breathing of them both as the perched above eachothers lips. Finally Zuko rubbed his lips softly over Katara's and she melted. The golden warmth spread throughout her body, leaving a tingling sensation in its wake. This is what love feels like, Katara thought as she entwined her fingers into Zuko's coal black hair. In this place of magic, moonlight, and romance, together they were free.<p> 


End file.
